Thankfully, there are trained lifeguards keeping watch over your summer water fun. Their first priority is safety. But there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that they'd never tell you. Think you know all there is to know about sunscreen, chlorine and pool "accidents".
Get a glimpse of what a work day of a lifeguard’s water park is like, by reading Junie’s journal.
6:00 am I wake up, turn off my alarm, and chug a liter and a half of water, before I begin preparing for my day at work ahead.
7: 00 am Leave the house and make my way to work.
8: 15 am Arrive at the Aqua Play Parks. My day usually begins with inflating water park products under the sun. Just before inflating, I head down first to the Water Park and meet with the technical staff, checking on the lifeguards gadgets and equipments.
9:30 am Proceed to the water park area and meet with the other staff. Make sure that all gadgets have been tested thoroughly as the water park will open at 10am. Ensure that all water activities are also ready to go when the park opens. Check on errors from yesterday and make sure they are all repaired.
10:00 am Meet up with the lifeguards and brief them on the day's operations. They are divided into teams and on some days, I would conduct water training with a group of them. Subsequently, meet with the operations manager to plan the areas and stations that each lifeguard is in charge of.
Before the water park opens, I contact the immediate supervisor to brief him about the current park situation and get his instructions before proceeding to any major decision-making for the day’s operation. I will then wait for the cue from the guest service department if everything is in place before opening the gates to our visitors. I then give them the green light to go if everything is ready.
11:00 am Assist guests in locating their whereabouts, questions about the park, availability of the facilities, etc. Being the head lifeguard I supervise the safety and rescue of swimmers, and water sports participants.
Individuals have a thought that lifeguards don't generally do much however we must be prepared to face anything from a cut finger to a potential heart attack in the pool or spinal injury so we should be always ready to act. We will dependably be the first port of call. At Aqua Play Parks, we are prepared for a wide range of scenarios.
Athlete's foot is a common skin infection that we get from being a lifeguard. Our skin is tanned. However, no matter how it goes, we stay focused on our path. Most of the times, we do not consume our break time as our priority are the guests. We wanted them to maximize the time and really enjoy well.
11:30 am Walk around the water park and monitor the duties carried out by other lifeguards. I use walkie-talkie to check on the other areas as well as visit the first aid room to ensure all supplies are ready for any emergencies.
1:00 pm Lunch. Many times, we skip lunch because we receive a lot of guests who like to play. All progress requires sacrifice, it may be little or a lot, but sacrifice is an indispensable ingredient that serves as our investment in everyday work.
2:00pm Head down to the water park and monitor operations. Meet up with the lifeguard team, to ensure that there are no hiccups on our equipments. Water quality is also checked again.
3:00pm Meeting with the lifeguard team, housekeeping supervisor and first aider to discuss on the day's operations and plans for works and training to be carried out.
4:00pm Continue assisting the guests as they move on to change and leave the park.
5:00 pm Do a park walk to see to the errors of the day and inform the technical team if there are any urgent work to be attended to.
6:00 pm Check on all lifeguards and their station reports before giving the call to shut down.
6:45 pm Meet with immediate operations manager and brief him on the day's operation and at the same time, receive his instruction on works and approval.
7:00 pm Leave for home
8:00 pm Have dinner, prayers and watch television and at the same time thinking what's up for work tomorrow.
10:00 pm Bed time.
At Aqua Play Parks, we worked very long shifts in the heat of a summer. The breaks were few and far between. The days went by long yet it was a fun time seeing everyone safe and happy in your pool.
About the Author
Junie Ortilla Javier, 30, graduated with Bachelor of Elementary Education. He is currently the Head Lifeguard at Aqua Play Parks Philippines. He has been working at Aqua Play Parks PH for almost a year now.
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